Rebel Skies
by PreciousCosmos
Summary: Right when Zim makes his newest plan for conquering Earth, the Tallest tell him the truth and infect him with the Virus. With only days left to live, just how much can everything change? HIATUS IS ALMOST OFF :D
1. Sickness and Truth

**Well, hello there :). Thank you for clicking on the little blue title and giving this story another hit. This is my first Invader Zim fic and certainly not to be the last. After reading this, if you like it, I hope you stick around for the rest of my IZ goodies ^_^.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not make claim to anything of Invader Zim. It belongs to the god of insanity, imagination, and good dark themes Jhonen Vasquez, and...Viacom/Nickelodeon.  
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**Enjoy~  
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><p>"And that, miserable children," Ms. Bitters finally concluded, "is why the sun is destined to implode and suck the planet into a violent explosion that will devastate all life on Earth." Some of the kids stared horrified at her, others were doing something else, and the rest were just sleeping.<p>

So Dib was the only one who noticed Zim trying to hold back an evil laugh. He couldn't really tell if the green-skinned alien was laughing at something Ms. Bitters said or if he was coming up with a diabolical scheme. Naturally Dib's mind jumped to the most logical conclusion.

"You're planning something, aren't you, Zim?" he yelled across the room as he jumped onto the top of his desk. Zim didn't seem to hear, though. Dib narrowed his eyes. "Heyyy, Zzimm, Earth to Zim!"

Zim took notice of 'earth' and turned to see why the human worm was making a comparison like that. Dib didn't see any more of Zim after that because his vision suddenly became obstructed by Ms. Bitters. She had ghosted over to his desk and was now towering ominously over him. The room had gone dark, and Dib began to tremble and sweat nervously.

"Dib," she began, "as _punishment_ for never _ceasing _to speak and _always _making such naïve and obnoxious remarks about Zim being an _alien_, which I know you are thinking, you will be -" The last bell rang and the room returned to its normal lighting. Ms. Bitters was quiet for a second. "Well, it seems you have escaped your dire ending today, Dib. Get out of my class." She slithered back to her desk.

Dib sighed in great relief. _That was a close one,_ he thought. He turned back to where Zim was supposed to be, but found the alien had already left.

"Oh, no! I have to catch him!" he screeched as he ran out of the room. Ms. Bitters growled.

~o~

Meanwhile, Zim was marching down the sidewalk and had given in to his mad laughter. Dib had been right in his conclusion after all. "Finally, I have created the most ingenious plan for dominating this filthy dust ball!" the Irken yelled down the street. "It's so fool-proof not even the Dib-monkey can stop me! Muhahahahaha!"

He had been plotting such a plan all day, and strangely he had Ms. Bitters to thank for it. Not that he ever would, of course.

"Hahaha, I, the great Irken Invader Zim has at last –" He let out a barely audible yelp when, out of the blue, he felt like something shot through his brain and his PAK wiring sparked. For a split second he was in unbearable pain, but then his head was just swimming. He thought he was going to fall over so he stabilized himself by placing a hand on a fence he was near.

Glancing around quickly, he saw that whatever that just was wasn't an attack from Dib. "Hah, must be my excitement, hehe."

After a moment or two of resting, he continued on to his base very eager to tell his leaders the good news.

~o~

Dib ran out of Skool and down the sidewalk, intent on catching Zim. He knew the alien was planning something and he just _had_ to stop him. Besides, he got new alien sleepcuffs that he still couldn't wait to try out.

He finally saw Zim marching slowly to his base. "Hey, Zim!" he called. "What do you think you're doing?"

Zim turned around looking a bit angry. "What's it look like, insect? I'm going home."

"Why, so you can make an evil plan to dominate Earth? Is that it?"

Zim grinned, "Of course not. I already have a plan." And with that he burst into tyrannical laughter.

Dib gasped, "It's worse than I thought!" He pulled the new cuffs out of his pocket and brandished them menacingly. "Too bad I can't let you win, Zim!"

Zim realized what it was Dib was holding and nervously blurted, "Filthy human, I thought you lost those my first day of school."

"Isn't it pretty obvious? I bought new ones, duhhh," Dib smirked. He then lunged for Zim, who screamed and dodged. Then the chase began.

Zim dashed into the road and across the street causing a car to swerve and crash into a fence. "Crazy kids!" the driver yelled.

Dib followed hot on Zim's heels. "You can't escape, Zim!"

"You cannot catch _Zim_!" the Irken yelled back. He jumped around a corner and ran through a hedge, getting leaves in his wig and splinters in his hands as he shoved his way through. When he got out he found he was in someone's yard. He saw an open street with no Dib in sight, so he ran across the yard and straight…through a sprinkler. He screamed as he flung himself on the ground and rolled around on the grass.

Dib didn't see where Zim went, but he did hear the screaming and quickly found Zim desperately trying to shake off the burning water. "I've got you now, Zim!" the boy shouted.

"Why do you always give away your position, Dib-worm? You would fail as any kind of a soldier!" Zim shouted back as he got up and continued to make a run for it.

"Hah, thanks for the tip! I'll be more careful next time!"

"You liiiee!" Zim ran across the street again and Dib tried to follow, but he was blocked from crossing because a big truck almost flattened him.

When the truck passed, Zim had disappeared. "I'll cut him off at his house," he thought out loud and then made his way to Zim's base.

~o~

Zim had activated his PAK legs and climbed to the roof tops, and was now trying to get to his base without the chance of Dib being able to follow him easily. "Of all the most annoying things to get in my way! That horrible human leech baby!" He complained like so practically the entire way to his base. When he reached it he jumped off the roof he was on into the yard and marched to the door.

"Zim!"

Zim spun around and saw Dib with an insane grin running towards his base holding those blasted cuffs outstretched. "Gir," Zim yelled, "there's an intruder!"

A little green dog saying, "Yes, sir!" suddenly flew through the glass of the left window. Zim charged inside and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Gir and the garden gnomes to take care of Dib.

Dib stopped. He wasn't worried about the crazy robot, who had started dancing and paying no mind to anyone around him, but he _was_ afraid of the gnomes and didn't want to lose his cuffs again. Besides, Zim had already gotten away.

"You've escaped this time, Zim, but you're plan won't work! Not as long as I, Dib, paranormal investigator and sole protector of Earth, am here and strong!" And with that said, he retreated to his home.

Zim, who had pressed himself against the door in case Dib tried to come in, sighed in relief and walked into the living room. "Now that that's taken care of, I can tell the Tallests the good news." He brushed the leaves out of his wig, not caring enough to take off his disguise.

Gir came back inside and followed Zim to the underground part of the base. "Gir, repair that window when we are done here," he ordered as he put his hands behind his back.

"Okie-dokie!" Gir replied happily. Upon reaching the base floor, Zim walked over to the computer and contacted his superiors. The screen was fuzzy and blurred for a second or two then the faces of Tallest Red and Tallest Purple came into focus.

"Greetings, my Tallests," Zim began formally. Normally the Irken leaders would smirk, blanch, or cough up whatever snack they had been eating whenever Zim called, but this time their expressions were cold and staring. Zim, of course, failed to notice this.

"The mission on Earth goes well, for I have now created the most _ingenious _plan for conquest." He began pulling the splinters out of his hands as he continued. "The plan – ouch – is really quite simple. It's based on what would happen to a planet – ow – if its sun imploded. If that were to happen, of course, all life on this miserable excuse for a rock would be destroyed and pointless for conquering – ouch. So instead, I will take my ship and find a much, much smaller star, tow it nearby with a tractor beam, and cause a reaction within the – gahouch – star to make it implode on itself and shut down all electricity and put cities into shambles leaving the _filthy_ humans with absolutely no means of protection. After that, I wouldn't even need the fleet to conquer – ow – the _doomed_ dirt children. Hehe, what do you think of my brilliant plan?"

The Tallests hardly made a reaction the entire time Zim spoke. "My Tallest?"

"We're tired of this, Zim," Red finally spoke up.

"Uh?" Zim inquired.

"Yeah, simply tired," Purple chimed in.

"You have always been a failure to your _mission_," Red continued. The way he said 'mission' confused Zim.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, my Tallests."

The Tallests stared at him as if trying to figure out why Zim was so dense; however, they both knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't be able to get the idea on his own. "You're _mission_ isn't real, Zim! We just sent you to Earth because we hoped you'd die or at least leave us alone," Red stated. Not believing what he was hearing, Zim's eyes widened.

"But you couldn't even do that!" Purple said. "So we've decided to just kill you ourselves."

Zim's non-existent brows furrowed. "What do you mean, my Tallests?"

"We've infected you with the Virus!" informed Red angrily. The little Irken's eyes widened even more so in shock. "Surely you've felt the effects already?" He remembered the pain he felt when he was leaving school and he suddenly realized he had a pounding headache.

"My Tallests…"

"We're not _your _Tallests!" Purple yelled.

"You're a failure, Zim. You're a _defect_," Red sneered. Zim recoiled from the computer in horror.

"No, you're lying! Lies! All lies!" Zim shouted. "You have to be lying…"

"It's unfortunate that we couldn't bring you to Irk for a proper trial, but considering who you are, that would be a pretty bad idea. Goodbye, Zim. Have fun dying," Red said with Purple nodding pointedly. And with that the Irken leaders blinked off the screen and were gone.

Zim had never felt more shocked, angry, hurt, betrayed, and confused in his entire life. He looked down at his hands that were slightly bloody with his purple Irken blood from the splinters and felt wretched tears come to his Irken eyes. But he wasn't truly Irken anymore. "Everything I've worked for…everything I've suffered for…it was all a…lie?"

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><p><strong>Well, I hope it'll come out okay. Anonymous reviews, critiques, and flames welcome and very appreciated.<strong>


	2. Attempted Comforting

The fear of the Virus was driven into every would-be Invader smeet. It was, along with loyalty of the species, the grip every Tallest had over his subordinates. If an Irken was infected with it, it was because he was marked as an outcast, a failure useless to the Invader cause. There was only one way to stop the Virus and only the Tallests knew how, but of course no Tallest would cure one they had decided was expendable, especially for something like this.

There was no saving Zim. He knew that in just a matter of days he would be dead. Exiled to die on a planet he once sought to destroy. However, at this point he didn't care about the sickness. He always considered himself as a loyal, devoted Irken soldier and an elite Invader. Now he didn't know what to think or do. His life had no purpose, no meaning.

"Master, do you still want me to fix the window?" Gir inquired not quite sad but also not in the happy way he had. He didn't really understand what just happened and he wasn't sure how to deal with it.

For a while Zim didn't seem to hear, but then he gathered his senses and mumbled, "What's the point? There's no need for that. There's no need for anything now. All I ever did was serve them to the best of my ability. Surely this is some kind of sick joke? Yeah, that's right. It has to be. They'll just call back in a few hours and laugh and say they were kidding, yeah. I just think I have the Virus because the attack from Dib-worm wore me out. It's just a test…" Somewhere in his subconscious, he knew he was wrong and just making it up, but he didn't want to admit it yet, or rather ever.

A sad expression now appearing on his face, Gir asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Gir, I'm –" he faltered because his mere headache suddenly turned into a migraine and everything in the line of his sight began to look distant. "I'm just going to lie down."

"Huh?" It always confused Gir whenever Zim said he was going to sleep. The little robot's mind was too insane, though, to think about the strangeness for long. Zim hadn't turned from the screen or even tried to move, but now when he did he tripped over himself and fell to his hands and knees.

"Master!" Gir dashed to Zim's side and started nudging his master's shoulder. Zim was horribly startled at being touched and he smacked Gir's hand away. The SIR crawled away in fear. Zim's eyes widened but before he even thought to apologize, there was a sharp pain in his squeedily spooch that made him curl in on himself.

It seemed like he was laying there for hours and he didn't care if he never moved from the spot. Just as he thought he was falling asleep, he was surprised to feel himself get lifted up and moved. He managed to open his eyes enough to see it was Gir who was half-dragging him somewhere.

"Gir, what are you…?"

"Master wants to sleep. I'm taking him to get more comfy."

"I can do it myself," Zim retorted curtly.

"No, I want to help." Gir pulled the hood of his doggie costume off and turned to face Zim. Even for a robot, his cyan eyes looked so sad, sad enough to convince Zim to let him.

"Okay," he mumbled, making Gir smile. He got onto his feet and let his robot lead him to the living room in the house. He could feel Gir's little fingers gripping his tightly through the fabric of the disguise. It made him feel a little better.

As an afterthought, he stopped and turned slightly, saying, "Computer, turn off all main power sources. We won't be needing them." Lights dimmed as the computer complied and Gir wondered why Zim would turn them off. Even he knew that shut down defenses, communications, and – and TV!

They came to the living room. Gir helped Zim climb up onto the couch then promptly disappeared to another part of the house. Zim didn't know what he was doing and wasn't sure if he was coming back.

He tossed his wig and contacts on the floor and tried to settle down to rest against the couch even though he didn't know why he was even bothering.

Suddenly Gir came back having a hard time carrying a blanket, a couple of pillows, and a rubber piggy. Zim recognized them as Gir's and knew he had gotten them from his room.

Gir dropped a pillow as he stumbled over to the couch. When he reached it he dropped the entire load on the floor and took off his dog costume so he could use his hands easier.

He picked up a pillow and placed it on the left end of the couch and then fetched the one he dropped. Zim was watching him mildly curious.

Gir put the pillow next to the other one and said with a smile, "Now lay down all comfy so I can spread the frosting."

"Frosting?" Zim wondered just as Gir reached for the blanket. "Oh. Gir, there's no need for this."

Softly, Gir said, "Sshh, sleep time. I'll take good care of the baby." Zim just stared at him for a moment as he felt the sadness of learning the truth well up in his eyes. "C'mon, Master, lay down now. Please?" He was holding the blanket out and ready.

"Okay, Gir, okay," he replied sort of defeated. He curled up on his side and laid his head on a plush pillow. The other one was cushioned behind his head and neck which made his headache not as painful as before.

As Gir spread the blanket snugly over Zim, he stuffed his piggy into Zim's arms and giggled. Zim tolerated it mostly because the thick blanket was making him warm and sleepy.

He was half asleep when strangely he started to feel…good. In fact, more than good, he was feeling pure pleasure.

At first he sunk into the feeling and even moaned in his throat a little, but he soon came to the thought that it wasn't right. He knew he wasn't supposed to feel like this and quite frankly he didn't want to. It just felt _wrong_. And this only happened when someone…

Gasping, he snapped his eyes open and jerked slightly. "Gir, stop! What are you doing? !" Gir quickly stood back.

"I'm sorry, Master. I thought it would help. Master seems so sad," Gir explained almost in tears.

Zim was beyond feeling sorry for him now. "Don't you ever do that again," he warned. Gir had been caressing his antennae. Whenever an Irken's feelers are touched like that, the sensory nerves react and it creates a feeling described as pleasure, but it wasn't pleasing Zim. "Just leave me alone, Gir."

"Okay…"

Not feeling better but at least slightly content, Zim finally fell into a difficult sleep.

~o~

Gir committed himself to trying to watch TV, but he had forgotten that they couldn't get signal anymore and in an insane way his scanty mind couldn't really get off of his master's strange behavior.

He thought hard and tried to understand. He wished his master would just tell him what was going on. He wished he had paid more attention to the message from the Tallests. Gir could pay attention if he really wanted to and has many times before, but some of this just wasn't making sense. Words like 'betrayal' and 'dying' didn't really mean a thing to him.

At last he got tired of the mind work and seeing his master asleep made him want to sleep too. He climbed up onto the right side of the couch and curled up by Zim's feet. He was asleep immediately.

When Gir awoke the next morning, it was nearly 8 a.m. He could have slept longer, but Zim was kicking him. He looked over to see that Zim had thrown the blanket off the couch and was tossing around, but he was still deep in sleep. "Oh, no, Master, what's wrong?" Zim didn't hear him so he braved a brush against Zim's antenna. Gir was happy to see him relax immediately and his breathing returning to normal.

Gir hopped off the couch and put his disguise on. He went back to Zim and covered him again with the blanket, saying, "I'll be home soon. The store will have something that can make Master feel better."

He ran out the door saying, "I'll see ya' later. Don't leave bed 'till I come back!"

~o~

At Skool, Dib was distressed to see that Zim wasn't there. Normally he wouldn't begin to worry until Zim was missing for a few days, but since he knew the alien already had a plan, he was _very_ worried. He made sure Gaz knew it too during lunch.

"I mean, what if he's putting his plan into motion right now? I'm just sitting here doing nothing when Earth could be in grave danger!"

"Dib, if you don't shut up _right_ now, I will _boil_ your tongue in flaming hot sauce," threatened the extremely aggravated Gaz.

Dib immediately backed off. "Jeez, Gaz, why are you so cold? You used to not be this way until -"

Gaz shot him a death glare that was worse than usual. Dib got the message and retreated out into the hall. "Why can't she understand? This isn't a game. Oh, right, the only thing she cares about _is_ her stupid games," he said angrily. "Well, I can't see it that way and I will stop it. But how…?"

He found himself at the school entrance. A thought crossed his mind. "Wait, noooo, I can't do that. Dad would kill me for leaving school, but…gah, I must. The fate of the world depends on it!"

He ran out the doors and down the steps onto the sidewalk. He paused for a moment, then headed for Zim's base, being careful to avoid any cops and responsible looking adults along the way. When he reached it, he was out of breath and confused. There were no gnomes in the yard and the satellite on the roof was gone.

"Well, that's not weird at all," he muttered sarcastically. He took a cautious step into the yard and then jumped back out. Nothing attacked him. He took two cautious steps into it and then jumped back out again. Still nothing attacked him. He smirked. "Stupid little alien. Now's my chance to infiltrate."

He ran up to the door and charged inside, then froze in his tracks. The room was destroyed. There were long claw marks all over the walls and floor and wires sparked from the ceiling where they had been cut. He quickly saw his nemesis lying on the couch.

At first Dib thought he was sleeping, but even from where he was standing, he could see Zim's ragged breathing and the sweat that glistened on his face.

"What on Earth?" Dib exclaimed and he ran over to Zim. "Zim, are you okay? …Wait, he's unconscious. I can take him and never have to worry about the planet again." He smiled like a maniac. But seeing Zim like this made him feel terrible. "No, I – I can't do that."

He watched Zim and saw how vulnerable the alien was, and now he wanted with renewed desire to figure out how that body worked. "Yes, of course I can. If I take him now Earth won't be in danger and I can finally prove that I'm not crazy, yeah."

But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Zim was so pale and breathing in harsh gasps, and the condition of the house frightened Dib. "Should I just leave him here? What's even wrong with him? Maybe this is normal…"

Zim suddenly thrashed his arm. Dib had to duck to keep from being sliced by the sharp claws. He kept on flailing yet Dib knew he wasn't awake. "Zim, hey, wake up! Stop it!" Dib shook Zim's shoulders until the alien's eyes cracked open.

"What…?"

"Zim, what happened to you?" Dib asked hurriedly.

Instead of answering, Zim glanced around and then fixed his eyes on Dib. "Who are…? What's going on?"

Dib, shocked, said, "How do you not know who I am?"

"I know who you are, _Dib_," he snapped.

"Well, then why are you asking?"

"My base! What did you do to my base? ! How did you get in here? !"

Dib was furious now. "I didn't touch your base! I found it like this and it's obvious why I came in here because you were an idiot to turn off your defense systems!"

Zim leaped off the couch, shouting, "I should have known that was a bad idea." He examined a claw mark on the floor. "PAK legs, night-horrors," he muttered. "I must have done it in my sleep."

"What'd you say?" Dib asked.

Zim stood up and got into an attack position facing Dib. "Nothing, you disgusting rock worm. Get out of my base. Gir, there's an intruder!" They waited but the robot didn't appear. "Gir, where are you?" Zim yelled angrily. Still Gir didn't come. "That stupid, useless piece of junk!"

"Hah!" Dib jeered and took on an offensive pose as well. "I don't see why I can't take you right now. You're so defenseless. I could have taken you to my lab while you were sleeping!"

"So why didn't you?" Zim sneered.

"Because…because…" Dib had no idea why he had been concerned for Zim and now he was too angry to care. "I don't know! But what I do know is that you're weak, Zim!"

"Weak? Zim weak? ! Pathetic _human_, you are the only weak one here!"

"Oh, yeah right!" Dib was tired of always saying the same thing to his rival, so he thought of a different approach. "Not one of your evil plans has ever worked, Zim, and because of who? That's right, me! Your schemes are always stupid like that time you destroyed the city by returning that explosion back to its normal time or when you made Peepi the hamster a monster. Man, it's like you're defective or something!"

Zim had growled and gotten ready to attack the Earthling, but the last thing Dib said made him freeze. With pure malice dripping from his tongue, he asked, "What did you say?"

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><p><strong>I was listening to YouTube music as I was writing some of this and I suddenly realized I was listening to "Uninstall." Then I went with a smile, "Well, hell, this could almost have been a songfic." Heh.<br>**


	3. Terror

Zim's greatest power was not his ability to create the most intricate machines from scratch and control complicated, dangerous weaponry, or even the fact that he was nothing short of a genius when it came to technology – it was his ability to remain perfectly quiet.

He could be so terror inspiring when he yelled, especially when he was yelling his evil plans to the world, but that was just it. He revealed his often alarming plans when he did that and Dib could easily take advantage and stop him. When he was blank and quiet, no one could tell what he was thinking.

Zim would definitely be plotting something insane yet stupid and nonetheless lethal, and Dib couldn't even fathom what it could be. That always put him on the spot. He hated not being in the know. Secrets taunted him, and mysteries beckoned him.

There was just so much to discover, and now as Zim stood there completely silent with pure hatred boiling up in his eerie maroon eyes, Dib knew he had crossed a line that should never have been looked at. He was nervous and disturbed, but sadistic curiosity had a louder voice. _Why not learn more? _it said. He refused to be intimidated.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zim. Did I strike a chord?" Dib smirked. He mused if those would be his famous last words.

Zim glowered at his enemy, not planning a single thing. He was going insane with rage.

Dib chuckled, "What was it I said? Was it de-"

Without warning, Zim shrieked and thrust a hand at Dib's face. It was so fast that he couldn't dodge in time before he felt painful scratches get etched above his left eye. Then the onslaught came at Dib without mercy. "You wretched, horrible, disgusting child of filth!"

Dib was physically stronger than Zim, but he wasn't faster, and he never thought Zim could be so fast. For every blow he half-deflected, three others landed a hit. But Zim wasn't punching and kicking like a human, he was _clawing _and _biting_.

Alien teeth sank into his arm that he was uselessly trying to use to protect his face, and needle-like claws left their deep marks anywhere they could reach. He was backed up against a wall now. For once he wished he had just left his enemy alone.

"_I am going to kill you!"_ Zim screamed. Dib could hear the clear murder in his voice and could see the frenzied insanity in his eyes. He was about to cry out, but Zim's fingers closed around his neck, cutting off his windpipe. _No, Zim, stop. I'm sorry! Please stop!_ Dib's eyes were wide with horrified fear and he tried to voice these thoughts, but Zim wasn't flinching.

In a last desperate effort, he kicked Zim in the stomach as hard as he could. Zim gasped and loosened his grip. Dib gasped in air and, coughing, shoved Zim which knocked the alien to the floor.

He made a mad dash for the open door, but he barely made it out into the yard before his face met the ground. Zim had easily followed him and leaped onto his back.

"Zim, stop!" Dib despairingly pleaded.

He could feel Zim's hot breath on his ear as he whispered, "I think killing you will be all the accomplishment I will need to be content for the rest of my miserable life." There was no amusement in his voice.

Zim raised his arm above his head and was about to bring it down in one fatal slice to Dib's jugular vein, but he stopped when a sudden raspy cough made him cover his mouth instead. Dib tensed.

The coughing quickly went from weak and throaty to painful and intense. He backed off of Dib and then tripped on the step behind him. There was a weird taste in his mouth and he realized in horror what it was.

Dib's shocked mind only registered the lack of weight on top of him, and he tried to crawl away. He was in so much pain that he could barely move, though, and then he noticed that nothing was happening to him. _What?_ He rolled onto his back and sat up. His eyes narrowed in slight confusion when he saw Zim coughing uncontrollably. Despite both his hands covering his mouth, something dark trickled down his chin and seeped between his fingers. _What is that?_ Dib thought. _Blood?_

When Zim at last calmed down, Dib waited. He didn't know why he was waiting or what he was even waiting for, but he did. He couldn't stand up now anyway.

Panting, Zim just sat on the step. Blood dripped a little from his open mouth and he didn't look up at Dib.

Dib stared with a look of deep thought shadowing his face. The pieces were irrational. Zim's absence from school wasn't all that strange, but that's only if it was because he was putting a scheme into motion. But that clearly wasn't the case because the shredded blue blanket Dib saw in the house near the couch showed that Zim may have been sleeping, not conquering. Did aliens even sleep? The destruction of the house was unsettling as well…

Then there was this terrifying behavior. The blood…_did I kick him that hard?_ But somehow he doubted it. He may have kicked the alien as hard as he could, yes, but even he knew he wasn't that strong at the time. _Or maybe Zim is just more delicate than I thought…_And why was the crazy robot missing?

Nothing was adding up.

"What the heck is going on here? !" Dib burst out. Zim jumped as if he had forgotten the boy was there.

"Stay away from me…" he warned in that same unusual dark voice.

Dib narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious, Zim. What's going on?" He impulsively lifted his hand to point, but Zim took it as an act of offense.

He hissed like a threatened animal, his tongue flicking through his teeth. _"Don't touch me."_

Dib snapped his arm down in fear. He did not want to get attacked again. Now he decided was the best time to leave and quickly too. Just as he stood up and turned around, he heard a strange sound. A sob?

He glanced over his shoulder. "Huh?"

"W-why does…everyone…want to hurt Zim?" the alien said so quietly that Dib almost didn't hear. But he did and he could _swear_ he saw tears falling from Zim's eyes.

He never got to find out for sure, because a high, robotic voice yelling, "Master!" made him turn back around. He saw the green "dog" standing on the sidewalk holding a heavy-looking grocery bag. Well, now he knew where that thing had been.

Gir dropped the bag and ran to Zim, completely beaming. "Master, I bought nice stuff to make you happier. Now go back to bed!" He shoved Zim into the house and, surprisingly, went back for the bag. Zim seemed almost willing and stayed inside.

"Little robot!" Dib called without thinking.

"Yes?" Gir replied, picking up the bag and staring blankly at Dib.

"W-what happened? What's going on?" he asked quietly. The robot immediately burst into laughter. Dib raised an eyebrow.

"The big-head boy wants to know what's happening! Eahahaha, he wants to know!"

"Yes, I want to know! Tell me!" Dib shouted angrily. He was sick and tired of these games. The robot had better tell him soon, or so help –

"Sick…" Gir said softly.

"What?"

"Pain…lies…death…it's gonna end…all over…all over…" Gir was smiling and giggling a little, but huge robot tears streamed down his face.

Dib groaned. He grabbed Gir's head in both his hands and looked the robot in the eyes. "What. Is. Wrong. With. Him?"

"DYING!" Gir screamed.

"What does that even mean? !"

Gir shook Dib's hands off and he ran into the house before Dib could stop him. Long after the door was slammed, he still stood there staring at it. It wasn't until the defense garden gnomes appeared from the ground did he run.

As he ran, he didn't think. He _refused_ to think. But in the back of his mind, he knew_._ He didn't know why or how, but he knew he understood what that robot said. Why did it hurt in his heart so much? _Why?_

Something dripped on his forehead. Without stopping, he looked up to finally notice the rain clouds. "Oh…"

A few more drops came down lightly, but very quickly it began to pour with a vengeance. It hadn't rained for nearly a month. Dib felt refreshed by the cool water. It made running easier for some reason.

Before he knew it, he reached his house. He slowed to a walk and pushed the front door open.

Gaz, who was sitting on the couch playing her Game Slave 2, looked up at the sound of footsteps. She took in the sight of her soaking wet brother, disheveled and looking like he was attacked by a fifty-pound cat, for not even a second then looked back at her game. "Where were you when school ended?"

Dib walked slowly into the room. He didn't seem to hear her.

"You better be glad Dad's not home, or you'd get a mouthful about playing hooky."

"Gaz…"

"But, hey, not like I'm complaining."

"Gaz, listen…"

"It was great to finally be away from your weirdness –"

"Gaz!"

Slightly surprised, she looked back at him. "What's your problem?" He opened his mouth to tell her everything that happened, but he paused. Why did he have to tell her? She didn't care. It wasn't even any of her business really. So he closed his mouth and went upstairs to his room without a word.

Gaz followed him with her eyes, shrugged, and continued slaughtering vampire pigs.

Dib went straight to bandaging the worst of his injuries. He tossed his coat over the back of his desk chair and looked at his arm. "Oh, man…" The nasty bite wounds were deep and looked terrible. Zim's teeth didn't even look that sharp. And these scratches…he did all that with _gloved _hands.

He went to the bathroom to see if he could find some gauze. There was a small spool of it in the medicine cabinet as well as some Band-Aids. He carried the bandages back with him to his room and patched himself up as best he could.

Images of the day crossed his mind as he worked.

"_Man, it's like you're defective or something!"_

"_I am going to kill you!"_

"_Pain…lies…death…it's gonna end…all over…all over…"_

Suddenly he couldn't do anything more. He threw himself onto the bed, so exhausted despite it still being the afternoon.

"So I've won? The world is safe now?" For some reason he wasn't comforted by that.

* * *

><p><strong>I want to thank everyone who's reading and reviewing. You all are awesome :) and I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to all of you. Well, until next time~<strong>


	4. Determining Motives

Gir brushed past Zim when he ran inside and headed straight for the kitchen. He clearly didn't notice the dark atmosphere created by the hideous slash marks mixed together with the remaining vestiges of emotions experienced just minutes before.

Zim stood in the center of the room, his back to the door. He likewise didn't acknowledge Gir's presence, not when his mind was so focused on just his horribly burning emotion. It made his life goo boil. He wanted to lash out more at everything and scream until his throat ached, but all he could do was stand there and let it consume him.

Hate.

That's all he could think of. He _hated_ that _human._ The foul creature knew nothing of what it spoke. _Nothing!_ It could never comprehend a thing beyond what it could readily see!

He clenched his fists so hard his claws cut into his flesh. He didn't care about the pain.

The hate extended to more than just Dib - it was to his whole race. They were all disgusting. They basked in their own filth. They were stupid, _so_ incredibly stupid, and could never come to true power. He hated them! He hated the very dust they walked on. _Ignorant, incompetent humans of this world!_

They all deserved destruction. Oh, how much he wanted to doom them to the hands of his leaders, especially to ruin the Dib-filth. In fact, he would request to have the creature for his own so he could torment it with every method of torture he knew. But…

That was when he noticed the liquid streaming from his eyes. Oh, Tallest, he was crying. His hatred was turning into grief and for the first time in his life he was _crying._

With hands gripping his temples, he shook his head miserably. Never in his life…this feeling was illegal on Irk, the PAK was supposed to block it…maybe…maybe he _was…_

_NO!_

He scrubbed the offending tears and blood on his mouth from his face with his wrists, then straightened up to attention and glowered defiantly ahead at nothing.

He was _not_ defective! He was an elite Invader and no one, not even the Tallests, could change that. He vaguely remembered all his mistreatment for ruining Operation Impending Doom I, his supposed-to-be humiliating banishment to Foodcourtia, and all the times he had been told by others his secret mission was a lie, but none of that ever affected him. He wouldn't _let_ it affect him because that's who he was.

Clueless, selective, amazing _Zim. _No one respected him. But they damn sure feared him, and that was all he needed.

"Computer, activate the defenses!"

"That will require me to reactivate main power sources," the computer informed.

"I don't care! Do whatever is necessary! Just obey Zim!"

"Alright, alright." Certain lights around the TV screen flashed as the computer did as it was told.

Zim put his fisted hands on his hips, his brow muscles furrowed and his lip sticking out slightly. With an air of superiority, he turned to face the blue door and shouted, "None can stop Zim!"

All the noise he was making caused Gir to come into the room. He had taken off his disguise and was holding a spoon with what looked like mayonnaise and butter coating it. "Master, wanna know what happened today? I was a –"

"And you!" Zim yelled as he marched to his bewildered minion. "Why were you not here to protect your master? ! Are you really so stupid as to not come when Zim calls? !"

Gir stood quietly and blank-faced while Zim ranted. The Irken glared angrily for a few moments before he burst, "Well?"

Sticking his tongue out, Gir threw the spoon behind him then hollered, "I'm gonna make you a sammich!"

Zim roared in frustration. "No, Gir, listen to your master!"

Gir stopped walking away and looked Zim in the eye. The Irken glared darkly at the droid and Gir watched back calmly. In the back of his mind, Zim noted that Gir had been doing that quite often as of late.

Suddenly, Gir spread his extendable arms as far as they would go at normal length, saying, "Aww, hug time!"

"No! Do not touch me!" But Gir still came towards him. Furiously, Zim struck him across the head. The force sent Gir into the same wall Dib had been shoved against. "You will obey me!" Zim shouted.

Gir shook his head as if to clear it from a daze, what little brains he had rattling on the inside metal, and then he looked up at the ceiling. What he saw up there made him scream grievously.

Zim looked where the distraught robot had his gaze locked and immediately saw what upset him so much.

Entangled and half melted to the damaged wiring was the pink piggy. There was a hole in its forehead where a PAK leg had stabbed through and inadvertently gotten it up there.

Zim growled under his breath and shifted his gaze back to the still-shocked Gir. "Your _attachments_ make you weak!" he hissed.

"Why?" Gir wailed.

"Because if you care about something it will only destroy you in the end!"

"Yay!"

Zim stared at his malfunctioning servant. He freely admitted it - he cared about the Tallests, even his own people in a way, yet now he was betrayed. The utter sickness he felt and pain in his PAK was a cruel reminder of the Virus it contained. _The traitors… _He struggled not to feel it, but he hated everything to do with the Empire. And now he remembered that he had received Gir from the Tallests as a secret and advanced model of a gift. That had been a lie too then, huh.

Zim knew what he always loathed the most, and that was flaw. _No_, he reasoned, _I am no defect, but that robot…_he_ is._ _Specially created by the wretched Tallests, and so _flawed_._

He stepped closer to Gir. "I must remove a problem like removing a virus from a computer," he muttered as if pre-programmed. At this moment his logic and senses were on autopilot.

Gir just sat on the floor, completely oblivious to what his master was going to do. Zim was standing over the little droid menacingly yet somber when without warning the computer said something he was never expecting.

"Incoming transmission from the Massive."

Zim froze. "…what?"

"Ahem, I said that the Tallest are calling you, _sir_," it huffed.

"Surely this is a joke. Computer, are you malfunctioning?"

The computer sighed and said, "Just answer the call."

Zim slowly turned to the large screen. With shaky knees he walked closer to it. Was that desperation he was feeling? It was pathetic no matter what it was. _Why – why are they calling?_ "C-computer, answer or something!"

_What if -?_

The Almighty Tallest appeared on the screen. They were smirking.

_Earlier that day_

Somewhere in the vast cosmos of space, a pink and yellow planet rotating calmly on one side and a few asteroids flying aimlessly to the south on the other, traveled the imposing Invader Armada. On the bridge of the flagship, the Massive, Almighty Tallests Red and Purple sat in their command chairs finishing up a transmission with a blue-eyed she-Irken.

"Well, thank you for your very _detailed_ report, Invader Nel," Purple said when Red was too lazy to say anything. Purple knew he didn't even pay attention to most of the long communication.

There was a bit of silence for a second, then Purple cleared his throat dramatically.

"Oh, uh," Red snapped out of his bored thoughts, "We hope to hear more of your mission later, blah blah blah." He signaled to a Navigator and before Nel could say any more, the transmission was cut.

"Is it just me or are these reports getting duller every day?" Red complained while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know, but I'm getting hungry," his co-leader yawned. Purple stood up and pointed to another Navigator, saying, "You! Bring us snacks!"

Various foods of delicious junk were presented to them and they proceeded to scarf it all down. With his mouth full of something that could only be described as an orange Twinkie, Purple asked, "So what's been keeping you so quiet?"

Red paused in stuffing a doughnut into his mouth. "I've just been thinking."

"'Bout what?"

"Zim."

Purple coughed. "What? Why?"

"Well, it's actually his latest plan. I think we could put that to good use. Get it?"

"No, not really," he deadpanned and devoured a few doughnuts of his own.

Red sighed. "Alright, what I was thinking is that we follow his plan but actually destroy the planet. We've never cared about Earth and it's an even surer way of getting rid of Zim for good."

"But we can always just use the Armada to do that. Why go through that kind of trouble, especially since he's already dying from the Virus?"

"Because of the glory of it! Imagine the adoration we'll get for destroying a planet – and an annoying problem – with an entire star!" Red half-yelled as he imagined it.

"Yeah, that is pretty cool," Purple said. He never thought any of Zim's plans were amazing or smart, but now that Red really liked the idea he had to go along with it. Sometimes it seemed like Red's words were more important than his. But Purple wasn't outspoken enough to do anything about it.

Red set aside his snacks for the moment to declare, "Let's call Zim and tell him! Instill more fear into the defect!"

The communications Navigator established the connection but it took a while for anyone to answer. When Zim finally appeared on the screen, the Tallest could clearly see the wreck that he had become in just a day. It pleased them very much.

_Present time_

"S-so that's all they had to say," Zim said to himself after the Tallests had disappeared from the screen. He felt so absolutely foolish for thinking they had anything other than more pain to tell him. Well, he really didn't care.

Lightning flashed across the sky. The sound startled him and made him look towards the window. There was a puddle of water on the floor beneath the shattered glass. Oh, yeah, he had told Gir not to bother with repairing it. He hadn't even realized it when the rain first started.

He was compelled to move so he walked close to it, stopping just before stepping into the puddle. The wind blew moisture onto his face leaving his skin feeling tingly. He hadn't applied paste for a while. A few months before he had put weather sensors up in the atmosphere so he could better predict when the horrible watery drops of death would come, and he hadn't checked them yesterday.

It would be so easy wouldn't it? To just step out there and end it all. He had heard of humans doing things like slicing their wrists to kill themselves. Glancing at his own, he shivered. _How unceremonious… _In fact, now that he thought about it, the whole thought of suicide was unceremonious and unnecessary.

Quiet humming brought his attention behind him. Gir was in a corner scribbling with crayons on some paper. He was the one humming some random tune, and then he laughed and ate a crayon.

Zim felt a stab of something he could not name. It wasn't guilt, he thought, but he never had actually felt guilt before so he didn't know what it was that made him feel so terrible. He had almost destroyed Gir, and for what? The feeling increased.

He was going to die soon and when he did, what would become of his loyal servant? Be destroyed in a supernova, that's what. The strange feeling was replaced with powerful determination. "Zim shall not allow it," he said aloud as he clenched his fists. "Gir, repair this looking glass," he commanded.

No one would harm Gir, not as long as Zim was alive.

The robot's eyes turned red and saluting, he said, "Yes, my master!"

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, now it's starting to pick up the pace. Actually I have no idea what's supposed to happen next chapter, only until after that one will I really know what I'm doing. Yay, Invader Nel's cameo! She's my sister's OC and not in the public domain. Don't ask if you can use her :). Hehe, that "Oh, Tallest," part is supposed to stand for "Oh, god," but Irkens don't have gods except for the control brains and "Oh, brains," would be awkward. Hm, I really hope Zim's drastic mood changes are alright. I was really pressured with this chapter (did it all in one weekend, hoo-hah!) so I apologize for its obvious suckyness.<strong>

**Alright, I think I will reply to reviews right now *smiles*  
>~Alli: Yesh, you're mean to poor Zim-Zim. Y U NO LIKE ZIM-ZIM, ALLISON T^T. What if he made your head big like Dib-weird or hired Nny to kill you viciously and paint the wall with your blood like I told David would happen to him too for what he said for saying that? Huh? HUH? *is fully aware you have no idea what I'm talking about – what a sad existence you lead* But thank you for the <strong>_**1**_** review and I'll keep emailing the new chapters to you :).  
>~ArtistForever: Yes, poor, poor Zim. There will be more of Poor Zim, fear not. I thank you soooo much for your last review. It makes me so happy to see that I'm bringing tears to people's eyes.<br>~Anonymous: My dear unknown person, oh how I love you. You ask so many spoiler questions, herp-derp. I see you like it much so far, nyan, there is good angsty sweetness coming ^^.** **  
>~Dark Dragon 4x4: As you can see he snapped big time, hehehe. Thank you, thank you. Seeing you on dA was dumb luck, haha.<br>~Awsome3709: Hehe, you so fun x3.  
>~DarkWind13: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT! It made me feel much more comfortable with what I'm doing here :).<br>~ . .Soap: Yeah, I love that song a lot. And you've already got an answer to thine question. (Can you believe my spellcheck doesn't know what "****thine"**** is? D:)  
>~Anon: Ah, I love hearing "poor Zim" so much. SO. MUCH x3.<br>~InuyashaPrincess14: Yes, everyone likes comfort stories with little sweet Zim suffering o-o. It's the sadism of us all. Now I feel like I have to say, "You won't complain about nasty toilets, would you?" and I need a dA emote…  
>~InvaderLyd: Your review makes me very, very, very happy x3. My writing isn't that great, but thank you so much for that :D.<br>~Moth Mask: Yes, I try to not write any dialogue and thoughts unless I can actually hear the character saying that. It helps keep them in character and I'm glad others notice :). Now about your last review...that's one of the kindest and greatest I've ever gotten. Thank you so much. I don't know why you think it's so good, but I've always wanted to be able to write something that could be called that. You made my day :3.  
>~Mimi-loves-llamas: Thank you ^^. I'm glad you do!<strong>

***sigh* That takes up a lot of room, so after this I'll only reply to anonymous reviews in the notes and you account people will get private responses :). And I also need haaaaalp! Does anyone know how to make a page break? I must needs know if it pleases kith and kin (yay for jargon!).**

**EDIT: Hah! I figured out how to make a page break which I found out is actually called a horizontal line! If anyone else wants to know, what you do is put a chapter or oneshot in the document manager (yeah, the thing you have to do first before publishing anything) and then hit the Edit/View button. That will take you to a place kinda like Microsoft Word or something for editing. Up at the top-ish part where it has the Bold, Italics, and Underline buttons there will be a straight line button. That's the thing I use to separate the story from the notes. Hope that helped someone :).  
><strong>


	5. Is That Really What You Want?

Dib's slumber was filled with night visions of fear, none of which were particularly scary, just largely unsettling. His eyes danced behind their closed lids as his dream self looked with alarm at what was raging in his mind.

_Towering orange-red fire burned intensely in comparison to the infinite darkness around it. The blaze was a ring enclosing faster and faster all about the boy, trying its best to suffocate him. He couldn't run and couldn't think. Everywhere he turned there was the danger of being burned alive. He screamed and spouted incoherent words as the fire got close enough to touch him._

_But then the flames before him opened up to make a passage. He stared at the path in relative calm and confusion, then followed it at an uncertain slow walk. He wanted to run as fast as he could and get away, but in the funny way dreams had he didn't have control over his actions._

_How long was he walking? Not even Dib knew. But he came to an end of sorts and stopped. Eyes widening yet lips pursed indifferently, he saw Zim, his enemy, lying before him, body trembling and quivering voice silently admitting defeat._

_Dib grinned wickedly. Was it over? No more alien scum to destroy his home? The smile vanished when his enemy's eyes fluttered open and he stood up. The weakness was completely gone, now changed to tense, angry silence. He began cackling in time with the sound of the fire. Dib willed himself to take a step back, but his body didn't obey._

_His enemy's stare was cold and hard, filled with malice, the dark maroon eyes never wavering. It was scaring Dib more than the flames were. He wanted to scream for him to stop, but his voice choked up in his throat._

_Somewhere above their heads a star exploded._

_The scene changed. The fire receded and was quenched. Now Dib could finally stand in peace. Peace was a very loose term, though. "Why?" Dib shouted almost sorrowfully and still against his will. "Why does it have to change? !" He was cold…so very cold._

_His enemy never answered. To Dib's amazement, he was fading away. The darkness was so thick that Dib couldn't tell where the floor ended and a wall began, so it was unclear if he was sinking or being sucked in. He was just being swallowed up into the lightless thin air._

"_No!" Dib screamed as he began to run. "Don't go! Please don't!" But nothing changed. His rival's eyes still held that terrifying hatred as his already transparent form continued to disappear. "Zim!"_

Dib shot up in bed still half yelling that name and his arm reaching out. Seeing the familiar surroundings of his room, he quieted down and relaxed. "Oh…how embarrassing," he muttered.

He dreamed about Zim quite a lot but never like that. He rubbed his sweaty face and yawned. _At least it wasn't real_, he thought. But…he was still freezing! "Why is it so cold?"

The window was closed, but glancing down he saw that the bed material around him was saturated with water. He smacked his forehead. He had forgotten to change out of his wet clothes before crashing.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was 8:32 PM and now he wasn't the least bit tired. His body shivered more vehemently as he dragged himself out of bed and headed to the shower. The movement made his wounds burn with the aggravation it caused, and he bit his lip.

In the bathroom, he took off his shirt, left it on the floor, and carefully undid the bandage on his arm. "Eeh…" It was a little swollen and red-tinged. He hoped it wasn't getting infected. Alien germs…yuck.

He took off the rest of his clothes and got into the shower, turning the water on full blast and hot. He sighed contentedly when the water hit his cold skin. Now he could think.

Dib didn't know what to make of his perplexing dream. He usually didn't dream often and when he did they were a bit more realistic, like getting awards and media time for capturing Zim. A result of his imagination, yes, but still more realistic because the backgrounds were always set in real life. Thinking about it now, it was clearer than any other dream he'd had before. And he had _never_ woken up screaming before.

The most baffling part was how his dream self reacted to Zim's vanishing. Why would he do something like that? Like the way most of his day had been going, it was so confusing.

He got out of the shower when he decided he was hungry. He got dressed in some pajamas and made his way quietly downstairs. There was really no need to be quiet because his sister was still awake and playing her game on the couch. She probably hadn't moved from the spot.

"Hey, Gaz," he greeted. She immediately shushed him and he shrugged, used to being ignored by her. The only thing he could find to eat in the kitchen was some Count Cocofang cereal and enough milk for a small bowl. He made a mental note to go the store for more food soon before Gaz could kill him for taking the last of the milk.

He was quiet and relaxed as he ate, on the outside at least. Inside, his thoughts were still racing. So many things bounced around in his head that he couldn't focus on anything for a single minute. The amount of trouble he'll be in for ditching school, that unfinished report he wanted to give to the Swollen Eyeball Network, his aggravating wounds, that project for the dinosaur egg incubator he was convinced was still alive, those plans for a few scientific devices he wanted to use in his paranormal investigations, the weirdness of this day. And Zim.

Finally, he got so tired of it that he banged his head on the table to make it stop. "That's it! No more thinking!" he told his brain. Taking his now empty brain and bowl to the sink, he talked to himself instead of thinking. It was easier to keep from getting sidetracked that way and he felt more got accomplished.

"It's stupid. It's all just so stupid." He was reminded again of not being comforted by what Gir told him. "Why am I not happy?"

He headed up the stairs to his room. "I should be rejoicing in victory, so why can't I?"

"Seriously," he continued as he went into his room and sat on the bed, "what is wrong with me? What am I missing?"

Images of his dream flashed in his head, the most notable being Zim's disappearing. "Disappearing without a fight," he whispered, staring distantly at the floor. He then smiled darkly. "Ah, that's why."

Whatever was happening to Zim, Dib didn't cause it. That unnerved him beyond what he thought it would and the reason he wasn't comforted and happy. If Dib left the situation alone and Zim just quietly disappeared, Earth would be safe, but that wasn't the entire reason he hunted the alien. Dib also wanted the fame and glory of being the first to capture an alien and show it to the world.

"No, it's not a victory for me until I have Zim on an autopsy table and a medal on my chest. Not until the world knows I'm not crazy and my dad is proud of me." Standing up, he grinned triumphantly, proud that he had finally come to a clear conclusion.

That night, Dib didn't sleep; he wasn't going to waste a minute. Grabbing the backpack he just recently started using to be a little prepared for quick situations like this, he bounded down the stairs and towards the front door. "Bye, Gaz! I'm heading out. Don't know when I'll be back, but when I am, I'll be famous!"

"Meh," Gaz muttered in her head.

Dib slammed the door behind him and barreled down the sidewalk, the triumphant grin still plastered on his face.

It had stopped raining some time before he woke up. The air was moist and fresh and puddles splashed under his feet. The sun had set long before and now everyone was home, leaving the streets deserted of any people except those in a few passing cars.

Soon Zim's house loomed up ahead. Dib skidded to a stop in front of the entrance to the yard. He saw that the gnomes were back online, but, chuckling a little, he reached into the backpack and took out an image-distorting mask he'd once used. It practically made him invisible and Zim's defenses couldn't detect him. With a lot of time and effort, he was able to fix it after it was shorted out by a chocolate Suck Munkey. Ah, the memories.

Once at the door, he paused to consider what to do next. Could he really just open it? He looked at the window that was supposed to be broken, but saw to his dismay that it was fixed up tight. Now he wondered if attacking the alien would be a bad idea at this time. Maybe Zim would be at school tomorrow.

He didn't know what the heck he was supposed to do, but he reached for the doorknob anyway. Ironic that before he could even touch it, the door swung open. "I'll be back soon, Gir," the disguised Zim was saying, "I have a few things to say to that human."

Dib was so surprised that he didn't think to step aside, and Zim, clearly unaware of his presence, crashed right into him. Dib yelped. The alien reeled back, probably scared out of his wits. "What? Who? !" he exclaimed.

_Oh, crap…_Dib had to dodge around when Zim started waving his arms in front of him. Sometimes he hit Dib making him yelp more. "Quit it!" he said.

Zim stopped and looked at the air, one eye narrowed and the other wide. "Dib-stink?"

_C'mon, grab him now. Grab him when he's helpless! _Dib's hand twitched but he couldn't move it, at least not for him to reach for Zim, who now looked really angry.

"Speak! Zim commands you!"

Dib bristled. "You don't command me," he snapped as he pulled off the mask. Zim flinched slightly and snarled when Dib became visible.

"What are you doing here?" the alien demanded. "More importantly," he said, just as Dib opened his mouth to reply, "I'm glad you're here. Zim has a few things he'd like to say to you, squishy worm-smelly."

"Um…okay."

"Uh, yes, well…" Zim was literally fidgeting. With dark bags under his eyes, he looked miserable as well. "About your planet…"

When Zim didn't continue, Dib had to prod. "Yes?" he said even though he had an idea of what Zim wanted to say.

Zim seemed to struggle with his words. "Well, it's, um, just that…"

Dib sighed dramatically and crossed his arms. As much as he wanted to force Zim to admit defeat, he just wasn't in the mood to be patient. Well, maybe a little bit. "Go on," he said. Zim kept on fidgeting. Okay, yeah, he wasn't patient. "Earth is safe, I know," Dib said while mentally kicking himself for basically allowing himself to be defeated. _This was important, idiot!_

"Oh, you do?" Zim appeared genuinely surprised; however, he recovered himself quickly. "Yes, your filthy planet is no longer in need of your futile and pitiful efforts at defending it, dirt child, because the amazing Zim has no more need of it. You will also no longer be graced by my amazing presence."

The paranormal investigator didn't readily catch on. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Zim stared at him a moment, seemingly trying to deduce why Dib didn't comprehend. "It's simple, Dib-stink. I am leaving."

For some reason that he didn't understand, Dib froze. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes went wide, but only for a second. He got a grip on himself without letting Zim see his reaction even though he was quite sure Zim saw it, especially since the alien smirked. _He could be smiling like that because he's actually leaving…or something._

"Where are you going?" Dib asked while trying to figure out why he reacted in such a way.

"That is none of your business, filthy slug, but since you can't change it anyway, Zim is…going home."

"Why does that sound like a lie?"

"I am not lying! It's just…"

"Why do you keep…fading like that-" Dib held his tongue. The image of Zim's fading appeared in his mind.

Zim looked down for a silent moment, then looked back at Dib angrily. "Remove yourself from these premises. I have no more use of you. Begone with you." Backing up, he waved his hand dismissively and turned to close the door.

Without really meaning to, Dib blurted out, "Wait, Zim."

The Irken stopped. "What?" he said irritably.

"So… I'll never see you again?"

"Never again."

"…Okay. Well, ah... good!"

Zim nodded and Dib turned away. "Victory for Earth!" he cheered weakly. As he walked away from that house, he felt like he was walking away from his life. Just leaving it behind to let it rot and…disappear.

_What the-? !_ What the heck was he doing? Why did he even come here in the first place? Suddenly feeling very stupid and angry, Dib stopped and spun around. "What the heck _am_ I doing? !" He couldn't walk away from this. "Never!" He ran back to the men's room door that was slowly closing. He rammed his weight against it, knocking the alien back.

"Dib-filth!" Zim shouted in surprise and anger. He wasn't prepared for the door to be shoved against him and he almost fell down.

Dib stumbled slightly into the room from his momentum and lack of resistance from the other side, but he regained his balance easily and glared hard at Zim, setting his jaw in a toothy frown. "You stupid little alien! I'm not letting you get away that easily!"

Zim hissed and went into a defensive stance. Dib's eye twitched in remembrance of what happened the last time they fought, but he was determined to accomplish his goal. "You should feel honored, Zim!"

"Disgusting human!" Zim screamed when he decided now was the time to run. "Why would I ever feel honored? !"

Dib set to chasing his nemesis around the room. He didn't think about how stupid they must have looked. "Just think, Zim! Why are you leaving anyway?"

"Keep your smelly nose to your own business!" He yelled as he tried to leap out of the way as Dib threw himself onto Zim's back. They both crashed to the floor, and the breath knocked out of Zim from hitting the hard tile and out of Dib because of the PAK being jammed into his sternum. Zim struggled to get out from under the human.

"Always secrets with you, huh? Funny, you never had a problem before telling me what you were planning!" Dib pointed out. "You always seemed to _want_ to tell me!"

Zim squirmed and took to trying to bite, managing to get a hold of Dib's wrist when Zim's struggling forced the human to shift forward and balance himself. Dib yelped and jerked away, and Zim was able to scramble to his feet.

He ran further away from Dib and spit the taste of human on the floor. _Blech. _"This is different!" He screeched.

Dib lunged at him again and Zim clambered onto the couch. He stared Dib down from the elevated height. The boy stood his ground on the floor, glaring back at the alien. "How different? !"

Zim's expression changed to something that looked sad. Dib stayed still, waiting for some kind of an answer. They locked eyes for a long, silent moment, Zim unwilling to say anything and Dib just waiting. At last, Zim took a breath and, looking away, said, "I must go." He got off the couch and stood in front of Dib, like he had clearly forgotten that the boy was trying to capture him.

Dib raised an eyebrow. His hands twitched at his sides. "You're not going anywhere yet. Tell me why you're leaving." Zim remained silent. He started to walk away, but Dib grabbed his shoulder forcefully. The alien tried to pull away and Dib tightened his grip. But he couldn't help but notice how weak Zim was.

"So you're dying, huh?"

Zim cringed, making him look smaller. Dib wondered why he didn't feel like smirking.

"Yes," he said barely above a whisper.

"Why?"

"Because of fools!"

Now it was Dib's turn to cringe. Well, at least he was getting somewhere. He was going to press further, but someone interrupted him. "Master!" Gir hollered and came into the room from the kitchen. "Hi, Mary!"

Zim made a move to go to Gir and Dib let him go. Gir came to him and giggled when Zim put his hand on the robot's head. "Dib, I have to leave to stop a plan. A quite deadly and ingenious plan. You would do well to let me be if you value your planet's safety."

Dib groaned. "What do you mean, Zim? Stop with this stupid riddle talk."

Zim sighed and turned to face Dib. He looked at the ground as he said, "I guess I have to say that Zim _does_ feel honored at having such a worthy rival. Goodbye, Dib."

Dib stood solemnly. When did it all get like this? Zim admitting something like that? Before he realized it, he found himself saying, "Why does it have to change?"

Zim didn't answer. He couldn't.

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><p><strong>~Anonymous: Well, you see, (if completely disregarding your "jk") I'd be in a predicament because if I spoiled you, <strong>_**everyone else**_** would be spoiled *trollface*  
>~alli: Ugh, you make it sound like you're enjoying this shizz. You make other people think it's good, but whatever :.  
><strong>

**Oh, god, I hate how this is coming out. I hate it, I hate it! Why do you people like it so much? It's utter filthy crap and I cannot wait for it to end so I can seriously start something that will be so much more epic and amazing that didn't even come from my own head! It's an improvisation of something someone never finished but it will still be a hundred times better than this pathetic excuse for a decent IZ fic. I keep digging it into a stupid hole and not knowing what to do with it. It's the damn filler.**

**Ok, so this a bit longer than usual and didn't end how I wanted it, so it didn't have the effect I wanted and now I'm gonna have to TRY. TO MAKE UP. **_**MORE**_**. FILLER! God, how I loather filler…**

**Flames are welcome because I really think this needs to be flamed for its epic, disgusting OOC-ness. But I also want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this. It really means a lot :).**


	6. Zim's Just Getting Started

**Due to foreseen circumstances that couldn't be prevented, I've been out of a computer and internet access. I still don't technically have these things back fulltime and won't have them for a very long while yet, but since school has started and I'm in 10****th**** grade, I have my computer back for a little while. I feel that the only way I can make it up to you, my readers (however few there may still be), is that I finish the last 3 or so chapters in one go so you won't have to keep waiting for updates. I'm giving you what I have here to hold you over until I finish everything else. I know how I'm going to finish this, but it will still take time. For this, I am so extremely sorry.**

**The title of this story has been changed from "This Home" to "Rebel Skies." Sounds so much better, huh?  
><strong>

**Also, for a few of my reviewers that I'm reading stories by, I **_**will**_** get back to reading and reviewing as soon as I'm able.**

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><p>Dib had been investigating the paranormal for as long as he could remember. It fascinated him and held his attention more than anything else he'd done in his life. And even though no one could change his belief in ghosts and Bigfoot, absolutely nothing proved his conviction like the arrival of a real alien one simple, average morning at school. It proved that he wasn't just some crazy kid with a big imagination.<p>

He knew that it couldn't possibly have been coincidence that made their paths cross. He was just too obsessed with life's secrets and Zim was so bent on destroying his world. What were the chances? That was the day he learned what "destiny" was.

Zim made him feel so many things, the strongest of which being anger. The green pest made him feel incredibly angry and afraid that in his darkest of times when people were being completely oblivious to the proof right in front of them, he wondered if it was really worth it. Whenever he thought like that, a voice deep inside would tell him, "Well, what about Earth? If you quit, then who will be there to stop him from destroying everything, even if they seem to want it? And being the _only_ one who immediately saw what he is has to mean something, right?"

Up until now, that last thought always meant it was part of his destiny as a paranormal investigator. Now it felt like it meant something different. True, Zim made him terrified for his life on more than one occasion (he'd never forget how he felt when he thought the Irken flagship was going to land right on his head, or the last attack he had) and angrier than hell ever thought about being, but there were good things that outweighed the problems and made it all completely worth it.

Things like Earth had yet to be destroyed so that meant Dib was still the victor in their battles. Despite all of Zim's advanced technology and boastings, in his own mind Dib was still superior. Anytime he felt inferior, he would work that much harder to become stronger. As much as he hated to admit it, Zim bettered him.

The action, excitement, and stimulation he was constantly in went along with knowing things not even NASAplace and the world's leading alien researchers did. That made him feel privileged.

And most of all, he felt he had a purpose. Like he was meant to do something special that no one else could.

Right now he just felt frazzled as he seriously questioned that purpose. He had come to Zim's base to finally capture a real live alien and make a name for himself, but all he was doing was staring at the floor and thinking about the past.

The whole situation didn't feel real.

"The Tallests…" Zim's quiet voice startled Dib.

"Huh?" _What's he thinking?_ Dib wondered as he looked at his nemesis.

"T-the Tallests lied," Zim spoke up. "They lied about…the mission. Called Zim a…_defect_…"

It was perfectly clear to Dib how bad that word was to an Irken, though he wasn't entirely sure why. What confused him was why Zim was suddenly telling him what happened when he was so against it not even a few minutes before. _I'll never understand him._

"They infected my PAK with the Virus-"

"Virus? They gave you a virus?" It made sense; he was half computer after all. "Is that what's…killing you?"

"Not _a_ virus, pig-smell! _The_ Virus! Given to the lowest, weakest, most useless of soldiers. Given to the worst defectives as an _easy_ way to be rid of them! More amazing is that it has _never_ been used before!" He gasped in a deep breath and coughed slightly.

"Oh…" Dib looked down. That must be something difficult to cope with. He couldn't imagine.

"Of course Zim is honored to be the first-"

Or not. Dib smiled at the alien's naivete.

"But they are still wrong. Oh, so _very wrong_…" Zim clenched his fists in front of his chest. Dib noticed they were trembling.

Apparently he wasn't finished. Zim's voice kept getting louder and louder to the point of yelling as he continued, "Zim is the greatest Invader the Empire has _ever_ known and he will prove it," mid-sentence he looked up distantly and pointed at the ceiling, "by saving your planet!"

"Yay!" Gir exclaimed, uncharacteristically quiet until now.

At first, Dib just wanted to laugh at him. _Oh, yeah right! And they call me crazy,_ was his mentality, but he realized he hadn't heard "horrible, wretched rock," or "rotten dirt ball," or even a "filthy planet." And it wasn't like Zim had never saved Earth before, he had for much smaller reasons, but was he changing too? Besides, Zim's reasoning never blended with logic.

Zim suddenly made a pained noise and sank to his knees, all remaining strength he may have had seeping out of him. Immediately he began coughing up his weird purple blood again.

"Master!" the robot wailed and for some reason shot out of the room.

Ever since meeting the alien, Dib had always relied on his destiny. He only did what he thought was part of it. Today was the day he understood "choice".

Without even thinking, he quickly went to Zim just wanting to help him. It didn't strike him as odd at all. If the circumstances that had happened today went about any other way, he would have acted differently than usual, but not like this. He had just done too much thinking.

But Dib counted that as a good thing. Now had been the time for deep thought, because he was able to see that he was wrong. Wrong about what his dream was trying to tell him and why he was in Zim's house. He could still see destiny working in him, old habits being hard to die, but he knew his life would never be as he planned it.

Dib rubbed his hand at the base of Zim's neck just above the PAK to try to help him with the horrible coughing, but Zim shook him off. "I said…do not t-touch…Zim…" Dib wondered with amazement at how so much pride could be in a body that small, and he told Zim so.

"Zim is _not_ small!" He coughed once more and began to breathe a bit easier.

"Ok, ok, sorry," Dib replied defensively.

Zim stood up and left the room without a word. Dib let him go without saying anything either. His legs felt tired, so he went and sat on the big couch. He didn't think he should leave yet. Sighing, he laid his head back and laced his fingers together over his stomach.

Gir watched him make himself comfortable and then plopped down right where the droid was standing. "Master sure is brave," he said blissfully with a hint of love. He scratched at a scuff on the floor.

"Who, Zim?" Dib chuckled. "He's not brave, just cocky."

"Nuh-uhh, he fought mean Planet Jackers aaall by 'emself!"

"Did he now?" The boy shook his head in amusement. He could see how much the little robot cared for his crazy master. He didn't know anyone who could love everything and anybody just so easily. As much as Dib cared about people, he knew he didn't just love them, and he had no idea how anyone could love Zim.

Unexpectedly, the floor in the center opened up and Zim's familiar purple ship appeared on a platform. Then even more lights than the ones already dimmed turned off, leaving the room bathed in a soft, red glow. Dib looked around mildly confused. "What did he do?"

And speaking of the devil, Zim trudged calmly into the room, saying, "Zim locked his systems and programmed the computer to self-destruct the base in approximately one minute."

"What? ! Why?"

"So no filthy humans get their hands on his technology, Dib-worm!" He started climbing into the Voot cruiser, saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, Gir and I will be leaving. We've wasted enough time here. Gir, come." He gestured to his SIR to get in. Giggling, Gir obeyed by jumping in next to Zim.

Dib stared with his jaw hanging open. He was trying to say something but he couldn't find his voice. It wasn't until Zim reached for the hatch button that he yelled, "Wait, Zim!"

The solid maroon eyes looked in his direction, a look of annoyed questioning in them. "Take me with you," Dib said in a quiet but firm voice.

Zim snickered rudely. "And why should I do that?"

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Simple. It's _my_ planet you're going to save. _I'm_ the one who's been fighting for it all this time, so _I_ should be there too. Besides, forty-five seconds isn't enough time for me to get away from here."

"Thirty seconds until self-destruct," the computer corrected overhead.

"Thirty seconds," Dib echoed. Zim ignored him. No way was he going to let a stinking human on board let alone go with him!

"Twenty-five seconds until self-destruct."

"Zim!"

He growled angrily, but he knew Dib was right. Zim also knew he wasn't leaving until the human got what he wanted. "Fine! Get in now!" He didn't care; the Earth monkey would probably be killed by the g-forces anyway.

Dib didn't have to be told twice; he was in the ship faster than Zim expected. The hatch was closed as the platform carried them to the roof.

"Ten seconds until self-destruct."

"See, Dib, you would have had time to escape," Zim announced.

"Ha ha," Dib retorted.

"You might want to hold on to something, human." Zim pressed a few buttons and flipped some levers, and Dib decided it would be a good idea to do as he was told. He looked around and didn't see anything stable, but saw Gir hug himself. Dib shrugged and did the same.

"Five seconds until self-destruct! Oh, why me!" the computer grieved.

With at first a hover, the Voot floated above the green-and-purple house and turned up to face the sky. Zim made a concentrating, narrow-eyed face and forced the thrusters to power up before they were ready. The ship lurched forward hard enough to send Dib and Gir into the window. To Dib's untrained, non-pilot body, the speed with which the ship took off was supersonic. It didn't help that the building they were essentially fleeing from hit the end of the countdown and self-destructed in a tremendous explosion with mushroom cloud fire, dark smoke, and flying debris. It was all Zim could do to maneuver out of the danger without getting hit by something big.

They soon reached the higher atmosphere, Dib and Gir having long since been smacked back to the floor and stuck there from the incredible force of gravity. But even through the racking pain of having his organs squashed against his backbone, Dib couldn't help but be absolutely ecstatic.

He was going into space!

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><p><strong>~Anonymous: Thank you so much x3. Now I'm very pleased with how these last few chapters are going to turn out, and it's thanks in part to your review. You've been such a good and loyal reader even though you don't have the luxury of using the alert feature for people with accounts, so I want to personally apologize to you for this extremely prolonged update. I <strong>_**really**_** hope I haven't lost you!**

**~fighter: Me? Crazy? Naaaaaaah. Thanks very much for your kind words :3. I hope I haven't lost you either…**


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